# NTSB DEN01LA051: Cessna 172, N6830A, Grand Junction, CO, January 31, 2001 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: January 31, 2001, 15:30 local (22:30 UTC) - Place: Grand Junction, CO - Coordinates: 39.08076, -108.549957 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.0808&lon=-108.5500&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report July 30, 2001 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: FAA FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 51738 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=DEN01LA051 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/51738/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN01LA051 ## Probable cause Failure by the pilot to maintain directional control of the aircraft during landing roll. A factor was lack of total pilot experience in aircraft make and model. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of control - on ground/water, landing - roll - directional control - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - ground loop/swerve - performed, pilot in command (cause) - lack of total experience in type of aircraft, pilot in command (contributing factor) ## Analysis While on landing roll doing touch-and-go landings, the aircraft began to swerve and the pilot attempted to correct the swerve which became divergent. The aircraft ground looped, which damaged the airframe at the landing gear attach points. The pilot had ll.7 hours total time and 2.4 hours pilot in command in this make and model aircraft. ## Factual narrative On January 31, 2001, at 1530 mountain standard time, a Cessna 172 (tail wheel conversion), N6830A, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in a ground loop during landing roll at Grand Junction, Colorado. The private pilot and sole occupant was not injured. The flight was a local personal flight operating under Title 14 CFR Part 91 and no flight plan was filed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. According to the pilot, she was on landing roll conducting a touch-and-go landing and the aircraft began to swerve. The pilot said she overcorrected and the aircraft did a ground loop causing damage to the airframe at the landing gear attach points. On the Pilot/Operator Report (NTSB Form 6120.1/2), the pilot provided information that she had 11.7 hours total, and 2.4 hours pilot in command in this make and model aircraft. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N6830A](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N6830A), registered now, S/N 28930, built 1956 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 172 - Registry model: [Cessna 172](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172) (registry code 2072402) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental 0-300 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-0-300-series) (registry code 17022, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 28930 - Airframe hours: 2000 - Engines: Lycoming O-360 180 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: I Fly Strand Aviation - Registered owner: Lynn H. Buxton - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: 100 hour, December 22, 2000, 41 hours before - Departed: GJT, GRAND JUNCTION, CO - Airport: GJT, Walker Field, runway 29, 10,501 × 150 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 44; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; last flight review September 30, 2000; seat: left; flight hours: 188 total, 12 in this make and model, 103 as pilot in command ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 340° at 4 knots - Visibility: 50 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20010131001129A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20010131001129A), Jan 31, 2001: Cessna 172, Grand Junction, CO, No damage. (-23) Lynne buxton was pilot in command and was practicing landing at Grand Junction, CO. Airport when the airplane swerved to the right but the pilot over… ## Other investigations on N6830A (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB SEA02LA169](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA02LA169), Aug 31, 2002: Cessna 172 (N6830A), W. Yellowstone, MT, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's compensation for the wind conditions was inadequate during the landing roll. A quartering tailwind was a factor. From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.